


A Pinch of Salt and Pepper

by K_Lionheart



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith and Shiro centric, Multi, Sort Of, also i broke my toe yesterday haha, i blame the girls in the server, i'm looking at you guys, it's fun, mostly cracky fun, seriously just fun, shallureith - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-08 09:05:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14102016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_Lionheart/pseuds/K_Lionheart
Summary: A much-needed reunion between Voltron's current Head and former Red Paladin has been inevitable since the moment Kolivan approved Keith to return to the Castle of Lions for a short time. It was supposed to be a nice one-on-one conversation. A good ol' heart to heart about the war efforts and new plans now that the Galra Empire was under the hands an ally. Not whatever this ended up being. and It's certainly not about how Lotor has been oddly close to the Princess... or how he's been just hanging by her a lot lately... or how he keeps touching her... or how freaking annoying that is.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so super quick. I recently broke my toe. Long story short: hecking OW. Anyway, dedicated to the fun kids in the Shallureith discord server. Y’all know who you are.

Touch down on Olkarion was familiar and surprisingly, much welcome territory. Months of working with the other Blades had allowed Keith time to familiarize himself well into the brotherhood. He appreciated their silence and their lack of chit-chat during recon work, even if the beginning of it had been a bit rough. Voltron was a connected mind, meaning vocalizing ideas was the norm in that dynamic. The Blades didn't do that, preferring to memorize the missions well beforehand and offering odd looks if Keith tried to converse ideas into their shared comms.

He had adjusted quickly, learning to read discreet body language until he was fluent in slight nods, quick motions of the hands, and shifts in the atmosphere. Occasionally, he found himself missing the mindless chatter of the Voltron team. Easier to miss it now that it wasn't at the forefront of his mind, he supposed. It was surprising, but the absence of Pidge's acute technological babble emphasized by Hunk's additions and at times turned light and amusing by Lance's frequent pipe-ins had been something Keith liked to think back on when he was lonely. Quiet was one thing... complete silence was another.

The Marmora ship landed on the wide stretch of landing pad near the main entrance of the Olkari's citadel and with an approving nod by Kolivan, Keith hurried to the ship's entrance. Before his mask phased on, he allowed himself a quick glance out the windows of the ship. A warm look graced his eyes when he spotted his former teammates lining up nearby. Their colors were almost over-saturatingly blinding in comparison to the Blades' muted purples, blues, and blacks. It was a pleasant view.

Kolivan arrived a moment after and soon the door hissed open, blasting a warm draft into the ship's mouth. Keith relished the sensation of wind as it pushed through his hood and buffeted around him. He assumed the statuesque stance of the other Blades standing around him.

"Someone's excited," he heard through his comm. Keith blinked in surprise and glanced to his left. To new eyes, the armor made each Blade appear nearly exactly alike to the first. Keith recognized the voice and figure of the commentator immediately. He even spotted the slightest lift of the chin. It was how Vrek showed amusement.

"I haven't seen them in a long time. They're like—"

"Family?" Ilun voiced next. "Oh, we know. You make it a keen effort to remind us every time we make these pit stops."

Keith's eyes narrow slightly. Typical Ilun. He wondered if the woman ever felt a touch of amusement or happiness in her life. Probably not.

"Try not to assimilate yourself too much this time," Ilun continued. Even though her tone was even and betrayed no emotion, she sounded like she was chiding him. "You always seem to become more annoying when you return from visiting your little 'family,' Keith."

Keith scowled, glad that his mask covered his face. Vrek made a tiny movement with his chin—keeping his chuckling to himself, no doubt. The other Blades around them did the same motion. "She's got a point."

"I can always count on you to remind me of how annoying I am, Ilun," Keith replied dryly. Ilun's masked face bowed slightly. Great, now she was glaring at him.

"Let's stay on task," Kolivan's voice rumbled through them and their spines straightened. They walked down the extended ramp in frightening unison. Keith liked this part. He liked watching the Paladins lean over and mutter to each other, trying to hide pointing fingers from Shiro's glances to pinpoint which one of them was him. It was funny to see them get it wrong. It meant he was getting better at hiding in plain sight. As they walked, Keith counted every member of the team. His amusement ended quickly when he spotted a missing color and the lack of silver-white hair.

As always, Shiro approached, smile warm and congenial as Kolivan stopped in front of him. Shiro extended his arm and Kolivan returned the gesture of goodwill.

"You are always welcome," Shiro said. "Good to see you are all well."

"Our missions have improved in efficiency, thanks to your new friend on the throne," Kolivan replied. The two of them dropped their arms and Kolivan gave the paladins a quick look over. Hunk waved, Pidge nodded, Lance raised a hand in greeting from where he leaned on Hunk's shoulder. "I see you are all well. However, I do not see the Princess."

"Princess Allura is currently at Galra High Command," Shiro replied and Keith's ears perked at the slight steel in his tone. "She's been working closely with Pri—Emperor Lotor. We've been working well without her for the moment. Rest assured, Voltron is still fully operational. She's left the Castle enough of her essence for us to create a few wormholes in her absence."

 _This is an extended visit?_ Keith didn't like the sound of that. Sure the war is no longer the same since they've allied themselves with the sly now-Emperor Lotor. Their casualty rate has lowered considerably given the nature of his intel. Still, something about leaving Allura alone to deal with him was... unsavory, somehow. Keith tried not to let the news disturb his stance, but he could feel his fingers twitch and curl behind his back at them anyway.

"I see," Kolivan said and Keith was somewhat pleased to note that Kolivan didn't sound convinced this was a sound idea. "Very well, let us convene inside. We have much to discuss before the Blades leave once more."

"Of course," Shiro nodded. His eyes landed directly on Keith and he smiled. "Good to see you again, Keith."

Kolivan took a step to the side and Keith stepped forward. He heard Hunk and Lance groan while Pidge let out a whoop of success.

"PAY UP!" he heard her exclaim. Keith hid a smirk as he let his mask phase from his face and he removed his hood.

"Glad to be back, even if it is for a short while."

Shiro grinned as they clasped arms before pulling him into an embrace. The strength of Shiro's hugs had always left Keith feeling a little breathless, and this time was no different. Keith smiled as he swung an arm around his closest friend and relished the feeling before they both let go. The Blades could judge in silence, Keith was home again. 

* * *

The return to the Castle of Lions was filled with overlapping stories and anecdotes the others drowned Keith in. It was nostalgic, hearing their voices jump and squabble over details in a tale, yet also new in that despite the familiarity, Keith was very much a spectator to their enthusiasm.

Shiro must’ve sensed the somber disconnect in Keith’s attitude and gave him a much needed respite from the overwhelming attention the others dumped Keith in. The noise was almost deafening in comparison to the silence of the Blades’ routines. Keith was glad for the long walk to his old living quarters.

When he arrived, his lips quirked in a smile when he discovered his passcode had been unchanged. The panel lit up and his door slid open with a soft hiss.

Everything was exactly as he’d left it. 

Keith ran his palms over the smooth alien metal of his old bedroom. His eyes reacquainted themselves with the pictures he’d left behind. He approached the hidden dresser against the wall and opened the top drawer. His Earth clothes lay neatly folded, undisturbed, and smelling faintly musty from misuse. Keith let out a soft huff before he closed the drawer and turned away.

He plopped down onto his mattress and allowed himself to sink into its blanket and pillow. All so foreign and alien, all so familiar and recognizable even after so long.

The Blades functioned on high efficiency. High levels of comfort were luxuries. Luxuries softened edges when they needed to stay sharp. Keith missed the leeways of comfort that the Castle provided, but he was glad to be away from them. He could sense his own growth and hadn't bothered to hide the smirk when he caught Lance comparing their heights.

"Whatever juice they've got you on is ridiculous," Lance said. "You're still shorter than me, though."

"Bet I could throw you over my shoulder with my pinky."

"Oh, don't start something you can't finish, Mullet."

He'd even missed the banter with Lance. Who'da ever believed the quiznaking day?

A light knock at his door had him shooting off his mattress and in a battle ready stance. A second later, Keith relaxed and sighed. "Yeah?"

"It's me!" Hunk called, "I brought you a milkshake!"

Keith blinked in surprise but smiled when he opened the door. Hunk was dressed down in his earth clothes, holding a small tray carrying two milkshakes sprinkled with Valurian candies. Keith reached up and grabbed the drink while Hunk helped himself to the second.

"I'm impressed you haven't used that cow for cheeseburgers, yet." Keith turned and let Hunk in. Hunk snorted as he took a sip of his milkshake.

"Cows have feelings too, Keith," Hunk retorted. "Kaltenecker is family now!"

"This family just keeps growing."

Hunk pointed to the mattress and Keith nodded, still holding on to his milkshake. After Hunk sat down, Keith watched as he peered around the room curiously. "Man, you Marmora dudes really don't like to liven things up a bit, huh."

"If you mean we like to keep things down to the bare essentials, then yeah," Keith went over and set his milkshake down on a shelf.

"You're not gonna drink it?" Hunk asked, eyes crinkling with obvious disappointment. Keith glanced back at the drink and shrugged.

"Uh... we don't really accept gifts..."

"Come on, it's a milkshake. A bit of home, a bit of earth. You do remember Earth, right?"

Keith tilted his chin slightly, "Yeah. I do. It's... the Marmora are just different. We hardly allow any luxuries. Honestly, this is the most I've spoken to someone in a while."

"No kidding?" Hunk's eyes bulged out slightly. "Jeez, that's pretty Spartan."

"I guess..."

"Well, I'm not too surprised," Hunk said. "Anyway, now that you're back here with us we can remind you of a few things! Like fun. Because  _hoo_ boy it looks like you need it." 

Hunk gave Keith a single once over, as if to prove his point. Keith glanced down at his Marmora uniform before fixing Hunk a flat look. It was almost second nature to have it on by now.

Hunk snickered, "Don't worry. We'll get you in shape! We're heading back to Galra High Command and lemme tell you, those sentries can be a  _riot_ when you reprogram them just the right way! We had a special Olympics made for the last one we reprogrammed and Pidge and I wanna try actually reprogramming a few and just let them at each other."

Keith snorted at that, "I'm surprised the new emperor lets you guys horse around like that. Tell me at least Allura tries to stop you guys."

"Well, she isn’t really around," Hunk said. Keith cocked his chin. "She’s mostly alone with Lotor the entire time we’re there... actually, she's been mostly alone with him for a while now. Especially since we got back from this mystical land called Oriande that was supposed to be some Altean myth but ended up just being this super cool white hole. Anyway, apparently Lotor is like Half-Altean or whatever and he and Allura went into this thing alone and it was nuts."

Hunk then gave Keith a sly smile, “Pidge and I have a bet going as to when they’re going to announce to the universe that they’re secretly in love with each other.” He added with a thriller snicker.

Something inside of Keith went oddly still at the news. He cleared his throat before asking, "Oriande...?"

"Yeah," Hunk said, excitedly. "You should've been there it was crazy! I'll tell you the whole story!"

"Right," Keith said and watched as Hunk slurped up the last of his milkshake and sighed happily.

"You sure you don't want your milkshake?" Hunk asked as he moved to the door. Keith almost nodded but something stopped him.

"Nah... leave it. I'll... drink it in a bit."

Hunk beamed at him happily. "Awesome, let me know how you like it, kay? We recently went to a planet that has something that almost tastes exactly like chocolate and we need a new taste tester since Coran backed out."

Keith nodded at him and Hunk disappeared with the slide of his bedroom door. Keith sighed and grabbed his milkshake, staring at the candies on the whipped cream as he sat back down on his mattress. He spotted different colors on them but for some reason, his eyes narrowed when he spotted a little purple candy near one of the pink ones. He swiped it away with a finger and took a hearty sip of his milkshake. His eyes widened when the flavors mixed on his tongue and the experimental sip became a mouthful he drained in one gulp.

Keith quickly regretted downing it so quickly when his brain suddenly screamed at him.

"Ahhh—freaking...!" Keith hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Brain freeze...!"

* * *

 As always, Keith was up earlier than the others, and he spent most of his free time training in the training deck. The Blade of Marmora was particular about punctuality, schedules, and strict discipline. Ilun's comment came back to tease Keith's mind as he faced off against the Altean Gladiator. The last thing he wanted was to give her a reason to find any meat to her accusation. He was going to return a stronger Blade.

"Training Level 12 complete." 

Keith twirled his Marmora blade in his hands as he released some pent-up energy from completing the latest round. He turned around and surveyed the many battle-droids torn up to ribbons over the smooth ground. Keith evened his breathing out and glanced up and opened his mouth to send a command to the computer.

"End Training sequence," he heard and he twisted around to spot Shiro standing by the entrance. As always, Shiro was dressed in his Paladin Uniform, ready for an attack at all times. Keith let his mask faze away and he smiled. "You've gotten better."

"Can't afford to trip over myself in combat. Plus, the Blades have no chill like, at all." Keith said, letting his blade transform back into its dagger shape before snapping it back into its scabbard.

"How're the others?"

"Better than last you were here," Shiro said and turned as they began to head to the kitchen. "You should see Lance and Pidge work together. They've become a pretty fast team. You'd be impressed."

"Oh yeah? Has Lance stopped trying to throw witty comebacks in place of better fighting tactics?"

"Yeah, he's got a little ways to go there."

They both shared a laugh. For a moment the silence between them was comfortable as they walked, but there was something missing from it.

"How's Allura?" Keith asked before he could think as to why.

"She's amazing," Shiro replied and they both exchanged surprised glances at that. "I mean... well you've missed a lot. A while back we went on a mission to a white hole and Lotor and Allura both were sent in in search of a mystical land called Ori—"

"Oriande," Keith chorused. He nodded. "Yeah, I've heard of it. Hunk gave me a quick summary."

Shiro nodded back, "Since then, Allura's come a long way. Before, her powers were impressive but  _now?_ She's incredible. It has a lot to do with Altean Alchemy and the amount of knowledge and power she seems to unlock within herself is remarkable. You'll know what I mean when you see her."

"What about Lotor?" Keith asked, "You said he went in there with her."

"I don't really know, honestly," Shiro said but Keith didn't miss the same little hint of steel under Shiro's voice. "He didn't seem to have learned the same things. They have been working closely together to understand quintessence and how it can become more useful to the new empire. He's been showing his worth as a leader..."

"But?"

Shiro looked at Keith, curious. Keith jerked his chin at him slightly. "You don't seem too happy about it."

Shiro smiled at him again and Keith noticed it as easily as seeing the sunrise, just the slightest hint of disapproval in his face. "Lotor is a great ally. It's been tough learning to trust him but I think he's deserved it this far. He's proven his worth."

With that, Shiro turned his attention away and walked into the kitchen while Keith slowed down a bit to watch him go inside. It was an interesting reaction, and it did nothing to lower the building guard now growing around his mind. Something about this wasn't right, and if Shiro could sense it then maybe Keith was right to be suspicious. He couldn't trust Lotor one hundred percent. This certainly didn't make it any easier to do so.

* * *

 By mid-day, the Castle had worm-holed its way across galaxies and in the presence of the great Galra High Command. The sight of the immense structure sent an immediate urge to tense up inside of Keith's gut, but seeing the at ease postures of the others helped him relax as soon as they arrived within docking distance. The main hull's comms suddenly opened up and Keith felt his heart jump when he saw Princess Allura smiling on the screen.

"Welcome back my friends!" Allura said and when her eyes landed on Keith her expression became warmer. "Keith! Good to see you again."

"Hello, Princess," he responded unable to keep the small smile from growing on his face.

"Are we good to dock, Princess?" Shiro asked.

"Yes," she said nodding. "Lotor sends his regards as well. He's currently in one of the main chambers discussing trade routes with other planets. We're hoping to start a new Universal Summit with the Coalition and the remaining Galra alliances to discuss peace."

"Oh, are we on a first-name basis with  _him_ , now?" Lance suddenly said, expression sour.

"That's great to hear, Princess. Does that mean the quintessence mining is working?" Shiro replied, despite Lance's abrupt comment. Allura sent Lance an unamused glance before nodding brightly at Shiro.

"Well, not exactly," she said. "It's been a... slow-going process. But, we're optimistic!"

Keith didn't miss any of it. It was obvious to everyone that Lotor was far from what Lance considered to be a great friend. Yet, judging by how Shiro's hand had squeezed into a brief fist at Lance's comment, Keith couldn't help but agree with the minor sentiment. He'll keep it to himself for now. "Great. We'll meet you at the grand entrance."

"I look forward to it!" And before the comms shut off she looked back at Keith and smiled at him. Something about it sent a surge of warmth through him that reached his cheeks. Keith kept his stance still as he could, quickly summoning his mask just when Pidge and Hunk glanced in his direction.

"I'll, uh, go ahead and get ready."

With that, he turned around and walked off hoping he appeared as nonchalant as he sounded. Even as he walked something about that little exchange made him feel a little giddy and Keith couldn't hide the urge to clench and unclench his fists at his sides as he walked.

* * *

The meeting... had not gone as planned.

As much as Keith had been looking forward to seeing Allura again, he didn't realize that their reunion would be so removed that she'd only be greeting them through a floating monitor. Allura had given her apologies, explaining that something had quickly come up and that it demanded her undivided attention, but that they would be well taken cared of and that they would meet for dinner later. The others took the news with a shrug, all save Lance who openly sulked before being pulled along by Hunk and Pidge.

They'd invited him for a quick Sentry Race Battle which, as much fun as it sounded, Keith had plans to stick along with Shiro and join him in checking out the updated map of the empire (and do some much needed catching up to do away from prying eyes). Coran, to their surprised, decided to join the garrison trio in their endeavors, interested in finding out more about being a "referee" and the group went off one way while Keith and Shiro went the other.

The whole time, Keith kept a curious eye on Shiro as they conversed, noting and observing that whenever the conversation strayed towards Lotor, Shiro's smile became strained. It was odder to hear how despite the microexpression, Shiro was practically singing the former prince's glory like it was the best thing to happen since they defeated Zarkon. It was... odd.

"Alright," Keith said, long after they arrived at the Annal room and they'd strayed into an awkward silence. "You gotta level with me. What's the deal?"

"What do you mean?" Shiro asked.

"Lotor," Keith motioned as he leaned back on a desk and crossed his arms. "You don't seem to like him very much."

Shiro gave him a look of wild surprise as if all the amount of the previous praising had landed on deaf ears. Keith shook his head with a smile, "You sure talk him up a lot and I get he's an incredible asset and all. I did help save his life during the Kral Zera... but whenever he comes up in conversation you just..." Keith made a face to mimic the expression when one eats a sour grape.

Shiro raised a brow, "I do what now?"

"You just look like you'd rather talk about literally anything except him," Keith said. Shiro laughed softly before turning around. Keith said nothing as he watched Shiro punch information on the large holograph, pulling up quadrants from the maps seemingly without much reason. Sure enough, Shiro let out a sigh and pressed his weight heavily on the top of the holograph projector's table.

"Don't laugh."

"Don't be funny."

Shiro shot him a wry smirk before reaching a hand and rubbing his hair. "Okay, it's gonna sound stupid, and I'm serious when I say don't laugh but... okay. It's... about the princess."

"Allura?" Keith perked up, fingers curling in anticipation over his arms. "What's she go to do with it?"

Shiro turned around and faced him properly.

"I dunno... It's weird. Every time Lotor appears by the princess he sort of hovers over her...stands way too close. I don't think it bothers Allura and I don't think she notices. But..." Shiro trailed off, the slightest trace of pink on his cheeks. His expression became sharper, "Like I get it. We can trust Lotor now, but honestly, should we at this point?"

"Whoa there," Keith said, eyes wide.

"I know I was one of the first to advocate for his trustworthiness," Shiro sighed. "I get that it sounds hypocritical of me to suddenly start saying that maybe I don't trust him that much, but it's not like I don't trust  _him_ as a leader or anything. I just don't think it's such a good idea to trust him so much and so soon, but  _ugh_ it just sounds bad from me because, again,  _I_ was one of the first who really pushed for that and—"

"Shiro," Keith took a few steps and pressed his hands on Shiro's shoulders. Shiro looked surprised and then sheepish under Keith's calm stare. "It's cool. I get it."

Shiro blinked in surprise. "You—you do?"

"Well, yeah," Keith said, shrugging before letting go. "I think this a pretty good time to bring this up, actually."

Shiro blinked in surprise, "Bring what up?"

Keith walked to stand beside him, his eyes taking in the maps floating before them before he turned and looked seriously into Shiro's eyes.

"The Blades have reason to believe that Lotor may not be as forthright with us as we hoped."

Shiro's look of surprise hardened.

"What do you know?"

* * *

  _"It's nothing confirmed yet."_

Darkness filled the halls, the faint pink and purple lights had gone down to permit the hours of sleep in the various parts of Galra High Command. It was the perfect time to sneak around.

_"...But we've had some intel about unsourced shuttles carrying highly concentrated containments of quintessence through the hidden routes we discovered."_

Sentries' footsteps clanked against the metal floors rhythmically, doing their rounds and scanning for potential abnormalities ahead. A shadow paused behind a pillar as the sentry turned a corner. Once the coast was clear, it burst into a silent sprint. Eyes followed the route the map installed into the mask, focused and steady.

_"How high are we talking about here?" Shiro asked._

_"Crazy high," Keith said crossing his arms. "Kolivan has never seen numbers that high.”_

_”Right... I remember this.”_

_Keith nodded, “I've been following the leads of this route for months now. They are hidden in plain sight and usually masquerade as other supply ships carrying other resources. The routes expand almost through every single territory but are focused in specific quadrants. Kolivan thinks they could be as widespread as the entire empire. This is why I believe that something is not quite right with Lotor. Because if there are these Galra supply ships carrying quintessence of this caliber..."_

_"Then either there's something much bigger afoot going under his nose or... Lotor isn't telling us everything," Shiro said, and his expression darkened into a solemn understanding. "What do you need?"_

_"He's given you a map of the ship, right?"_

No other words needed to be spoken. Shiro had placed a hand on Keith's shoulder and gave him a confiding nod.  _"Keith... be careful."_

Keith paused before a juncture, sinking to his knees as he pulled out a dart and threw it in the direction of a camera at the center. He waited a few seconds before swiftly turning and sprinting up the hall. He stayed low and ran as quietly as he could, turning the corner just as the dart's electromagnetic distortion ended and the camera returned to normal. The map on his mask's visor soon led him to a single room. Once there, he straightened up and removed his hood, mask fazed from his head and face.

He glanced around once before reaching over and pulled the door open. A single sentry stood in his way, turning around and pointing its weapon right at his chest. Keith raised his hands, expression carefully blank.

_"This room is off limits."_

"Relax," Keith said. "I have permission from Emperor Lotor to view the quintessence logs."

"You do?"

Keith's stomach tightened up in surprise, and he whirled around. Keith's mouth went dry as soon as he saw Allura, standing nearby in her paladin outfit and with her hair down. "A-Allura!"

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Allura smiled warmly. She looked over at the sentry and lifted a hand. The sentry lowered its weapon and stepped aside. "What are you doing here at this terrible hour?"

"Uh, like I said," Keith said quickly, thinking on the fly. "I have permission. I had been talking with Shiro about supply routes throughout the empire. I wanted to match up the information the Blades have with what Lotor has."

_It wasn't a complete lie..._

Allura nodded, "I see."

"What are you doing here?" Keith asked quickly.

"Haggar's former lair is not far from here. I usually take this route to get to a lift that takes me straight to the rooms we stay in while the Castle is permitted repairs," Allura said. "I'm usually there, gathering information on previous experiments or applying new information to new ones."

Keith nodded, "Ah, well...I'd hate to keep you here. You must be tired."

"A little," Allura said stifling a yawn. Keith smiled at that. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Keith's stomach nearly fell to his feet and he shook his head. "Uh...no. Well, actually, I was just going to sync up some information really. It's gonna take a bit for it all to download and you look like you're close to passing out."

"Nonsense!" Allura said, waving a hand even as her eyes closed sleepily. "I'll keep you company while it does its thing. I haven't seen you in such a long time, we could catch up here and on the way back."

Keith opened his mouth to protest but hesitated. Despite the cautionary voice urging him to make a rain check, he shrugged and stepped back. Allura beamed at him and walked into the room and while Keith returned her expression with an amicable smirk a part of him couldn't help but conjure up Kolivan's disapproving expression.  _You still allow your feelings to get in the way of your missions._  

Keith quickly waved that image out of his head before his face started doing the same expression.

Still, despite the nerves playing in his gut, Keith found himself greatly enjoying Allura's company. He plugged in a drive into the computer's systems and quickly began to move everything he could get while Allura talked and yawned. He wouldn't get a chance to look at the information now, not the way he'd want to, but he was sure the intel would be useful regardless.

Half an hour later, Allura had all but dozed off when the chip let out a soft click that announced it was full. Keith pulled it out and placed it in his suit's pocket. When he glanced back at Allura, he rolled his eyes when he found her half asleep by the wall.

"Come on, let's get you outta here," Keith said gently as he gathered her into his arms. Allura let out a sleepy moan and she awoke just enough to let him escort her out. The walk to the lift was slow going and full of sleepy giggles as Allura swayed in his hold. It didn't go according to plan...

but when Keith finally arrived to his bed that night, he'd laid down on his bed and covered his eyes... and tried as he did, couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

 "So? How'd it go?"

Meeting with Shiro again in the Annal room had become its own little secret meeting. Keith sighed as he sat on the desk he'd leaned on the day prior. Shiro stood by the holograph table, moving his hands over the tech and punching in numbers for rebel fleets to merge with Galra forces following under the same banner.

"It went off without a hitch, except for the part where I bumped into Allura," Keith said, rubbing his eyebrow. Shiro gave him an expression of alarm. "Don't worry about it, she didn't suspect anything. ...Is it bad that I feel bad about that?"

Shiro chuckled, returning to his map. "You did what you had to. What were you able to find out?"

"Wasn't able to," Keith said, leaning back. "I didn't want to risk the mission while she was there. She insisted that she wanted to catch up but at one point she actually ended up falling asleep."

A warm smile followed but he quickly schooled it back when Shiro gave him a smirk. "Anyway, I ended up taking her back to her room and wished her a good night. So yeah, it all worked out."

"Good," Shiro said as he surveyed his work and a short silence came between them. Keith watched Shiro as he turned away from the holomaps to sit against the holograph table, making slight motions with his mouth that were telling.

"What is it?" Keith asked.

Shiro glanced up at him and let out a breath, "Nothing. What'd...uh... what'd you guys talk about?"

Keith snorted loudly, "Seriously?"

"Dude,” Shiro lifted his hands despairingly. “You said you wouldn't laugh."

"Yesterday. Yesterday's promises don't apply to today."

Shiro threw the remote that turned on the holograph. Keith caught it with a grin and Shiro rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm not asking just because."

"You wanna know if she brought Lotor up."

Shiro scowled and after a short pause muttered, "It's all she ever does lately."

“You do realize how out of character you sound right now, right?"

Keith was rewarded with a low groan and Shiro dropped his chin to his chest, "Look, I'm just... I'm worried about her."

"She can take care of herself, Shiro," Keith said with a soft laugh. "Or did seeing her singlehandedly football tackle a door into a Galra soldier not convince you enough? Your words, not mine."

Shiro threw him an unamused expression, "Don't act as if you've never been. And don't think I didn't notice how bothered you _weren’t_ about Allura interrupting your mission yesterday."

Keith's mask immediately reappeared and Shiro shot up from his sitting position, pointing accusingly.

"No masking!"

Keith threw the remote back and hid a smirk when it bounced off Shiro's pointing hand and landed somewhere deeper in the room.

Minutes later, and a quick search for the remote, the two of them stared into the information Keith had smuggled into the small drive from his mission. They'd been able to isolate the holograph table's systems and were both grateful to turn the conversation to something serious and away from Allura for the time being. Turning their attention to scour into the recon work and attempt to make any sense of the immense amount of information before their eyes ended up being a bigger bite than either of them could chew through.

It was a few hours later when they both ended up collapsing on a pair of comfy chairs, rubbing cross eyes and muttering complaints about the lack of sense they were getting from the information.

"Guess Allura interrupting me last night was more of a hidden blessing," Keith said at one point. "There's no way I would've been able to find what I need as quickly as I needed."

"We may need to call in the Cavalry," Shiro said, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

"Let's hold off bringing Pidge in until we can get this info back to the castle," Keith replied, leaning his elbows on his knees. "...She didn't really talk that much about him, you know."

Shiro lifted his head up from where he had dropped it on the cushion behind him. "Who?"

"Allura," Keith said. "Last night. We only just talked about what we'd both been up to. She talked to me about Altean Alchemy for a bit before she stopped making any sense or her yawning broke her words up."

Shiro let out a laugh and shook his head. "Well, maybe tonight you'll have a better idea when we all meet up for the dinner we weren't able to have yesterday."

"I still think you may be overthinking it a little."

Shiro gave him a pointed look before raising his hands.

"Let's call it in and get some lunch. I'm starving."

"Wanna spar after?"

"Like I'd say no."

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

Dinner is served in a grand dining room that was far too dark for Keith's tastes. All the lights were purple or pink and literally, everything was black metal or granite. He understood that Evil was more than an aesthetic when in the hands of a malevolent ten thousand year ruling tyrant, but he'd hoped the decor would liven up just a bit now that the empire was in Lotor's hands. Apparently, the former Prince and current Emperor wasn't much that removed from harboring similar tastes. At the very least he spotted some blue and orange here and there, but it was so drab and dreary, Keith found his mood souring even before the food was served.

It absolutely had nothing to do with how Allura and Lotor probably wouldn't stop talking over everyone else.

Definitely not.

It also definitely didn't get annoying, not especially whenever, in whatever excitement they'd get, start running off one another's sentences like a pair of excitable teenagers.

It's not to be said that Keith didn't like seeing Allura. He enjoyed the Princess's enthusiasm as much as the next lovesi— _respectable_ friend and ally. He had found that some of his fondest memories would have moments where she'd brighten up and laugh or anything like that. Beyond respecting her and being in awe of her power as a leader, Keith had grown to consider Allura as vital to his little dysfunctional family as much as Pidge, or Hunk...

Keith glanced down at his plate of food for the third time, unimpressed by the smell or the odd coloring to it. He couldn't help but glare down at the weird goo before glancing back up over the table. As it happened he was assigned to sit next to Shiro, who sat opposite Allura, while Lotor sat at the head of the table, swirling a goblet of black liquid while he and the princess gabbed on. Keith threw a quick glance across the table to see Hunk taking experimental bites of his meal and making exasperated expressions. Lance sat next to Hunk, stabbing his spork into the food with an aggravated pout. Meanwhile, Pidge sat on Keith's other side, tinkering with a bit of tech that oddly looked like the head of a sentry.

"Seriously?" He asked her at one point.

She smirked up at him, "What, you got anything better than to sit back and watch Lance sulk and Hunk keep his complaints to himself throughout dinner?"

Keith gave her excuse a pass and leaned back to watch her work for a bit. It reminded him of a few late nights when insomnia had kept him up and he'd stumbled on her staying up way past curfew. He liked hanging out with Pidge. She never pried or pushed and respected his boundaries, and she seemed to like how he didn't ask her stupid questions about her projects.

"Hey, Pidge," Keith said.

"Hm?" she lifted the sentry's head and peered inside, reaching for a tool absentmindedly. Keith pushed a spanner she had on the table within her reach and she gave him a quick hum as thanks when she grabbed it.

"I might have something for you to look at later."

"Oh yeah?" That got her attention.

"It's a bunch of info I need to decode for the Blades," he said casually.

"Oh cool. I love recon," Pidge said. "Can we do it after dinner?"

"I was thinking we could do it later, in the castle?"

Pidge perked up at this, her eyes—razor sharp—met his with a silent question. Keith gave her a subtle nod and she responded with a grin. "Can do."

"Keith."

The two broke their little conversation as if talking about something of no importance, Keith looked away and Pidge returned to her tinkering. Lotor was leaning back in his chair, goblet swirling that black liquid and Keith met his gaze certainly.

"Were you able to find what you needed last night?"

The question shot a cold sensation through his insides and Keith clenched his toes from within his shoes under the table. Beside him, Shiro had suddenly paused mid-sip of his drink before resuming as if unaffected. Lotor was smiling at him, amicable despite the focused gleam in his eyes. Keith smiled at him and met his gaze head-on.

"Not yet," Keith said. "But I'm sure the information I got will definitely help the Blades in their efforts to bring down more threats to the empire."

Lotor smiled wider and raised his goblet in appreciation.

"I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Kolivan in person," Lotor said and he placed the goblet down on the table. "Allura has told me that it was because of his impeccable infiltration methods within the Galra ranks that they had been able to attain much information. How he had been a key element in bringing down Zarkon in the battle from a year ago."

Keith kept his body language neutral. "He is. I've learned a lot from him."

"I've been meaning to speak with you, actually," Lotor said and then he reached over to give Allura's hand a squeeze. Something about that made Keith's jaw set tightly. Out of the corner of his eye, Keith spotted Shiro's hand from under the table, clenching visibly. "There is much I feel we have yet to learn from one another in ending this war."

Keith reached over and grabbed his own glass of water and lifted it towards Lotor. "I'd be honored."

Lotor's smile spread and he let go of Allura's hand. Keith brought his glass to his lips and took in a drink just as he blinked over to Allura. The grateful expression on her face was almost enough to melt the tension in his body.

Almost.

* * *

 "I definitely don't trust him."

Keith threw his body back on a cushioned seat. Shiro turned toward him with an appreciative expression that appeared a bit wild, if a bit exasperated.

"I take it the talk with Lotor went well, then."

"He was the picture of formality and good will," Keith said, trying to keep his tone from becoming biting. "He seems like he has a great idea of how he wants the empire to prosper. I get why Allura is taken by him. Hell,  _I_  was for a moment..."

Keith straightened up in his chair and heaved yet another sigh. "Look, I get it. Given the conversation that I had with him... I know he's coming from someplace genuine. He really talks about improving the Empire and improving relations with planets that they've subdued and all that. But it's trickier than that. I tried talking to him about Planets who do not want to be under Galra rule and you know what he told me?"

"That he'd give them rule back—“

"That he'd give them rule back!" Keith said and his expression was wide with disbelief. "Am I an asshole for not buying it?"

Shiro shook his head, "No. I get it. He gave me the same spiel a while back... and I get what you mean about him coming from someplace genuine. Lotor doesn't mince words or hold back from painting his ideology well."

"But," Keith said and lowered his head. "There's...something off. I don't know if it's because he may be withholding information or... because I can't seem to read him well. But, yeah. I get it now."

"...And that hair," Shiro blurted, expression dark with irritation.

"That  _fucking_ hair!" Keith reached up and pressed his palms into his face, groaning loudly. Shiro nodded sympathetically as he reached over and patted Keith's knee. After a moment, Keith removed his hands from his face and heaved a sigh. "Thanks, Shiro."

"The Blades don't usually let you vent, huh?"

Keith snorted and shook his head. "Emotions are a luxury, remember? They think you guys are a mess."

"Well, they're not totally wrong," Shiro said with a wry laugh.

There was a moment where they both reveled in the silence that followed. The silence was familiar, the way blue skies and stars are familiar, or the way g-force and instinctual spins were familiar. It was all so organic to be back in the presence of Shiro that Keith couldn't help but bask in it for a bit. Yet even through all that, there was an undertone of unfamiliarity, something dark that refused to give to lightness despite how much it should be. It wasn't the first time that Keith had felt this since getting Shiro back from that Galra Fighter so long ago. It was subtle, but not enough to let Keith grasp it long enough to make sense of it. Keith watched Shiro for a moment while he turned his attention back to the holomaps and information being spread around the empire.

Could this... subtlety be easily explained?

Suddenly, Shiro let out a sigh and he turned around. Keith witnessed a familiar expression on his face, one that knotted his eyebrows over his forehead and tugged his lips down, and it was familiar enough that that niggling sensation was momentarily ignored. "Shiro?"

Shiro closed his eyes for a second before he looked up and gave Keith a small smile. "We just need to keep moving forward. ...Follow the lead and see where it goes. Hopefully, we're wrong and this is all just a simple misunderstanding that leads us to find the real culprit behind this."

"And if we do find something," Keith said eyes narrowing. "Something bad...?"

"Then she has to know," Shiro said and let his hands fall to his sides. "We'll just have to tell her on even ground and with enough chance for her to see it through. We can't afford to spare anyone's feelings in this. Not with this much at stake."

And the whole thing just didn't sit right with Keith. The sour feeling didn't leave even long after they parted ways for Keith to meet up with Pidge in the Castle and for Shiro to meet up with Coran.

* * *

 "Alright, what've you got for me?" Pidge's expression was positively gleeful when Keith meet up with her in the Castle's lounge room. She had already set a few computer monitors around and Keith found himself relaxing a little more than he had expected upon seeing such familiar territory. Fancy as Galra High Command was, nothing was quite as soothing as the familiar blue, cyan, and white colors of the castle.

Keith smirked as he lifted up the small chip-like drive in his gloved hands. Pidge's eyes widened and he could see stars form in her irises as he held it out for her to take. She didn't hesitate to snatch it from his grasp and bring it up under her tight scrutiny.

"Is this one of the mini-drives the Blades are known to have for recon missions?" Pidge squeaked, practically drooling.

"Yep," Keith said before sitting down beside Pidge as she immediately began to fish around for tech that would match the chip's specs. "Small enough to fit under a Galra fingernail yet built with enough space to handle over ten hundred giga-exabytes of information."

Pidge let out a groan, "that is the  _sexiest_  thing I think I've ever heard anyone say."

"Well, don't go dropping your pants yet," Keith snickered. "If you can do this for me, I'll let you keep it."

Pidge squealed, throwing her arms around Keith's waist. "You're the best!! Oh, I can't wait to dangle this in front of Matt's face—Wait, won't you get in trouble?"

"I've got like five more," Keith said with a shrug. Pidge let out a laugh and he gave her shoulder a teasing shove. Pidge pushed away a moment later and quickly hurried to plug the chip into one of her many monitors.

"So, what're the chances I can get in the Blade of Marmora?" Pidge asked, fingers tapping rapidly over her keyboard and lines upon lines of dizzying code covered her screens.

"Depends. You got any alien ancestors that happen to be Galra?"

"Ugh, I wish," Pidge said and the two shared a smirk. A moment later, Keith noticed how Pidge's expression pinched up with confusion before she looked at him. "Hey, Keith... where'd you get this info?"

"Galra High Command," Keith said, carefully casual. "Lotor gave me the okay to get this intel."

Pidge's eyes narrowed slightly but she nodded. "Well, it seems like a bunch of information on quintessence supply lines throughout the Empire."

"Yeah, that much I know already," Keith said, sitting up and facing her. "The info I need has to do with any... discrepancies in the information. How quickly can you cross-reference any irregularities?"

"Depends on the algorithm, but given the sheer volume of information you've got here, I'd have to reprogram a completely new systematic resurgence code prior to—"

"I asked how long, Pidge."

Pidge sneered at him, "Well, I'm gonna need more details than 'discrepancies,' guy. But with all this? A few days... give or take."

Keith's eyes narrowed a touch before he schooled his expression back into a neutral look. Pidge lowered her laptop down to her knees, she gave him an expectant look that belayed patience. Keith nibbled on his lower lip for a moment, before letting out a soft sigh.

"Okay, I'll fill you in," he gave her a sharp look. "But you can't let any of this slip to the others. Got it?"

Pidge made a zipping motion over her lips and Keith gave her a warning look before sitting back. "It's got to do with Lotor... and all this quintessence he keeps talking about."

* * *

 "And how much did you tell her before she started laughing at you?"

Keith sat up to glare at Shiro as he walked on the opposite side of the holograph table. "I said she snorted and then stopped laughing."

Shiro looked at him through the many little ships floating in formations on the table. Keith groaned and sat back in the chair.

"Pidge, of all people," Keith muttered. "Wasn't she literally out for Lotor's blood not even a week ago?"

"The whole thing with Sam happened weeks ago, Keith."

"You know what I mean."

Shiro let out a sigh and crossed his arms. "We are prepared for this. We knew there was a chance that the others would be...equally charmed by Lotor and his promises. I mean, ultimately, we have to be prepared to be wrong about this too. I think the reason why Pidge may have thought this is a longshot because we don't have nearly enough evidence to follow up on it."

Keith grunted in response.

"Is she at least working through it?"

"Yeah," Keith said. "I did tell her that my suspicion was mostly my own. The intel is still crucial for the Blades. She got that much."

"Good," Shiro said and he resumed plugging in more information before compiling it all together into a single file and brought it down into a drive. Keith watched him as he plugged it out from the table and started walking for the exit. "Come on, I gotta get this information out to Coran for him to send to Olkarion."

"That reminds me," Keith said as he swung himself up to a standing position. The two fell into a comfortable pace as soon as they were out of the Annal room. "Why aren't we doing all this in the Castle?"

"Ten thousand years of information," Shiro replied. "We're still only scratching the surface. Lotor was kind enough to give us enough sentries and backup assistance in weeding out the crucial from the absolutely mundane. The info I end up getting usually pertains to stuff that I personally requested to improve the rebel infrastructure."

"Huh," Keith replied. "You've got a lot of fingers in more pies than I thought."

"What kind of sociopath do you think I am?" Shiro shook his head disapprovingly. "Fingers in pies. Have some class."

Keith shoved him hard enough to make Shiro let out a snort of laughter.

* * *

The day came sometime after that that Lotor invited the Paladins to try out one of the Galra Command's most austere training halls. Keith, in all this time, had refused to change out of his Blade uniform despite the invitation to switch back to his earth clothes or at least his old Paladin uniform. Despite the brief tug of desire to put on the old red and white suit, Keith couldn't bring himself to. He wasn't a paladin anymore, and so wearing the paladin armor seemed... like he was lessening its value somehow. He didn't have to outright say that, but it seemed to have reached Allura in a way he didn't expect.

He had been walking towards the training hall Lotor had invited them to when he spotted Allura standing at its entrance with Shiro at her side. They were in the middle of a conversation as he approached. Keith smiled when he saw her beam up at Shiro over something he said but Keith didn't catch. His footsteps, soft as they are, didn't go unnoticed and he saw how one of her ears twitched before her eyes landed right on him. Keith gave her a nod and her smile warmed in a wholly different way.

"You're early," she said and Shiro turned to see him as well. "And still in your Blade outfit, I see."

"I'm comfortable with it," he said, glancing down at it with a slight frown. When he looked back into Allura's gaze her smile had lost some of its radiance.

"It would've been nice to see you in your own colors," she said. "Then your stay wouldn't feel as temporary."

Her comment cut right into him in a way that left him scrambling to push away the initial emotions that choked him when he'd decided to leave. A glance at Shiro's expression belayed the same kind of ruefulness, an old longing despite the sturdy foundations of support and encouragement. It was clearer to him in that moment how much his absence had wedged an odd sort of space between Shiro and Allura, one that despite the proximity between them, fell oddly cold. Keith cleared his throat before he dared let himself dwell too much on it.

"Is everyone not here yet?" Keith asked and placed a hand on his hip.

"Punctuality is still a thing we're working on," Shiro said and shrugged. "I warned them that if they didn't get here at least five minutes before meetup I would let Lotor go as Spartan as he wanted to."

Keith snorted, "Money's on five minutes late, regardless."

"Mine's on three," Allura added. Keith looked at her before smirking widely.

"I'll take those bets and say they arrive five minutes to," Shiro said and he extended his fist. Keith closed his and touched his knuckles to Shiro. The two turned to look at Allura who looked startled for a moment before she giggled and followed suit. Their fists meeting together in the center, the trio smiled warmly at one another and it was nice enough for them to just  _be_  that the abrupt call of another voice suddenly dampened the energy.

"I'm pleased to see you are all on time!"

Shiro and Keith had to fight off the urge to scowl as Allura took her hand away and they dropped there. Sure enough, Lotor approached, his typical armor replaced by a more form-fitting suit that did nothing but accentuate his best features. Allura brightened up immediately whilst Shiro and Keith bit the insides of their cheeks to avoid baring their teeth in a smile too tight to be one.

"Hello, Lotor," Allura smiled. "We were just speculating a bet."

Lotor's eyebrows raised curiously. "On what odds?"

"We are deciding on the timely arrival of the others," Allura said. "Shiro believes that they'll arrive five minutes before the allotted time. Keith supposes five minutes late and I'll win when they arrive three minutes late."

The minor jab was enough to make Keith shoot Allura a challenging smile that she returned playfully. Then she ruined it by looking back at Lotor and saying, "Would you like to place a bet?"

Lotor let out a melodious laugh and Keith very nearly punched him for it.

"No, I'm afraid. I'll leave you to collect your winnings within the next short while," Lotor said. "In the meanwhile, while you three are here, I'll go ahead and start showing you how training works under Galra High Command."

"Oh, trust me," Shiro said with a light laugh. "We're definitely looking forward to it."

"Come along then," Lotor said and pressed his palm into the panel. The door slid open and then he stepped to the side to allow Allura the chance to go first. Allura looked appreciative by the display of chivalry and at that moment neither of them noticed the quick glance Shiro and Keith shot one another before following close behind.

To their luck, none of them won the bet. Hunk arrived five minutes early, Pidge arrived three minutes late, and Lance strolled in five minutes after the hour.

"Training," as Lotor put it, consisted of them facing off against a large holograph monster that would attack them with lasers and electrifying blasts through the use of forcefields and other insane technology. It was the first time Keith had joined the others in combined combat in months, and he knew that that amount of time would cause a difference in attack strategy well enough that he decided to supply tactical support in the background.

Shiro hadn't been joking when he had told him Pidge and Lance had become a lethal force. Pidge used her own holograph doubles to cause a distraction while Lance fired pin-point blasts that took out the holograph monster's eyes and messed with its motion sensors. Hunk and Allura tag-teamed at one point with Allura swiping her plasma whip at the monster's feet while Hunk took out the beasts' footing. Keith's eyes followed Shiro at one point as both he and Lotor picked off the wild blasts of the creature with powerful punches or precise sword slicing.

It was certainly impressive and left Keith marveling at it for a moment. He couldn't help but feel a surge of pride when he witnessed them all take down the monster in record time and none of them appeared to have even broken a sweat.

"Keith, what gives!" Lance exclaimed at the end of the exercise, "Where were you?"

"Observing," Keith said as he approached them and he smiled at them openly. "Shiro wasn't kidding when he said you guys were really coming together."

"You couldn't have jumped in a little?" Hunk crowed, pouting. Keith's smile quirked apologetic.

"I wouldn't berate Keith for his decision," Lotor said, placing his weapon back in its sheath. "It must have been a while since you've all fought side by side. He was smart to watch you all work together before potentially throwing himself in."

Keith shifted in his stance slightly. Was it him or did it sound much worse when Lotor explained it? 

"I'll definitely join you guys in the next round," Keith promised. "Lance, let's partner up. Allura told me you have a broadsword now. Lemme see you use it."

"Aw, Allura, you  _told_  him?" Lance spun around, acting betrayed. "It was supposed to be a surprise!"

"Sorry, Lance!"

* * *

 It was about an hour after a few rounds of training that Keith found himself standing by Lance as they drank water and cooled down. Their previous teamwork from back when Keith had been temporary leader had, to Keith's relief, not suffered at all. Now that the two sported swords in some way or another, they'd been able to find a new dynamic to take on enemies that allowed Keith to feel like he was fighting alongside a worthy warrior. Not that this made Lance immune to some poking and prodding, however.

"You are seriously going to kill yourself if you don't learn to hold your sword properly," Keith said as he drew in a sip of water.

"Hey, I've been making progress," Lance shot back, lowering his sword after making a show of spinning it. "Allura's been helping me out."

"Here, lemme see it," Keith extended a hand. Lance pouted but handed it over and Keith tested its weight. The red and white broadsword was much different in style and weight than the arming sword he once wielded. Keith lifted it up to his chest, feeling the grip as he let his own curved blade return to its dagger form. He tested it out, with a swing and felt its balance by extending it out ahead of him. Keith handed it back with a smile and nodded. "It's a good weapon. It definitely suits you."

Lance blinked in surprise at the honest compliment and smiled as well. "Thanks. Allura said that it demands a deeper stance."

"The Bayard is a reflection of the Paladin," Keith replied. "You're growing, which means you need to secure your footing if you mean to use it well. Broadswords are heavier than your typical longsword, and this one definitely has a bit more weight at the tip. Don't be too tempted to wield it one-armed all the time or you could ruin your shoulder. You can use it with one, but if you want to take advantage of its power you should resort to wielding it with both hands."

Lance nodded as he let his hands grip the long hilt. "You know, once you stop acting like an emo vampire dude, you give some pretty good advice."

"I'm nice to you for like two seconds, Lance, I swear to God."

"Relax, would ya?” Lance laughed. “Do you realize how long it’s been since I could tease someone? Lotor is either deaf or has his own head so far up his own ass he can't hear anyone except Allura."

Keith definitely caught Lance's bitter tone in that last part. "Not a fan, huh?"

"Let's just say, I wouldn't mind if we left him alone in a room with Slav for a while."

Keith whistled. "That's pretty hardcore."

Lance spun his blade once more before letting it return back into its Bayard form.

"How about you," Lance asked, placing a hand on a hip. "You also totally on board with Emperor Charming or what?"

Keith let his eyes jump toward the object in question. Lotor was busy speaking with Allura and Pidge, giving some kind of instruction or bit of information or whatever. Pidge nodded along, mildly interesting and interjecting here and there while Allura followed along with uncurbed enthusiasm. It was enough to make Keith want to let loose a little more frustration on something else besides a holograph monster.

"Detestable, isn't he?" Lance asked by his side.

"That's putting it lightly," Keith replied before he could realize. His eyes widened in shock before he looked up at Lance and found him grinning at him like a madman.

"Yes!" Lance curled a fist and pumped it at his side. "I knew  _you_  of all people could see through the bullshit!"

"Lance," Keith said quickly. "Keep it down—"

"Oh man, wait till Hunk hear's about this!"

"Dude," Keith hissed. "Low profile. Have you ever heard of it?"

Lance did a little victory dance that was all legs and wacky arms and honestly, Keith didn't hold back from rolling his eyes. A moment later Lance stopped to grin at him like a milkmaid who'd discovered a spicy dose of gossip. "Come on, man, at the very least you gotta tell me what drives you nuts. I'm so sick of everyone fawning over him I just wanna go  _off_."

"Lance, really," Keith shook his head. "You're making it a much bigger deal than it is."

"You don't have any complaints," Lance crossed his arms. "Really?"

"I just... don't like the guy."

"Uh huh, and?"

Keith scowled and decided to throw Lance a bone. "Alright, fine. It's the whole..." he spun a wrist around. "...He's like a really big friggin  _creep._ "

"Oh my god, yes," Lance jumped along, nodding excitedly. " _Such_ a friggin creep."

"And is it absolutely necessary to basically be breathing down Allura's neck all the time?" Keith added, somehow getting caught up in the energy Lance was pulling him into.

 _"Yes!_ Exactly!"

"Not to mention the fact that he always seems to know exactly what to say." Lance punched the air. "Like he's rehearsed it or something. But like, it's also kinda hard to hate him because he seems to come from a genuine place in a way." Lance gave him a flat look.

"Keith," Lance frowned at him. "You're losing me."

Keith shook his head and groaned. "Look, fine. It's weirdly complicated. Because I cannot actually say I hate his guts or even dislike him all that much."

"Duuuude!" Lance looked betrayed and even wildly confused.

"Hear me out," Keith said. "I just don't know if I can trust him right now."

This did seem to take Lance off guard for a moment and he lowered his arms. "How do you mean?"

Keith tapped his fingers on his water container, "I don't know how to explain it... Whenever I talk with him, I can tell he's being a genuine person about what he intends to do with the empire. I cannot hate that. But it doesn't feel like its the full story. Like he's holding out on us somehow, and that--that gut instinct that tells me I shouldn't trust him? It makes me want to hate him really... also I really don't like how he hovers around Allura all the time, like what's  _that_ about?"

"See there," Lance pointed out, lifting a hand up high. "I can get on board with you and be friends. Come on, buddy, up top."

"Dude, don't make me high five you over this, are you kidding me?"

"I  _never_  kid about a high-five. This is an honor, dude. Now, either accept it or perish."

Keith sighed and after a very long moment raised his hand in the air.

"Now we're talking!" Lance exclaimed before the resounding smack that followed echoed through the air.

* * *

 "Best friends with Lance now, Huh?" Shiro teased him when Keith appeared to the Annal room later that day. "Thanks for that. Hunk and Pidge both bet you two would hate each other for eternity."

"We’re not best friends." Keith replied as he stood in front of one of the desks and leaned on it, crossing his arms. "The enemy of my enemy and all that... Lance seems to hate Lotor quite a bit."

"Yeah? No kidding."

Keith raised a brow at Shiro and his expression flattened out when he spotted the ghost of a smirk on his lips. "Of course, you know."

"Of course I know," Shiro said, this time cross-checking long lines over a quadrant just several galaxies south of the Galra High Command. "Everyone knows. It's not like Lance isn't vocal about his distaste with Lotor."

"Hm." Keith watches Shiro appraise the information with a purse of his lips before spinning the map around. "What are we doing today?"

"Over-lapping territories. Since Lotor's ascension we've been having a lot of squandering over boundary lines and a lot of planets in some areas are starting to declare emancipation and desire to join the Coalition."

"Diplomacy," Keith clicked his tongue. "Yikes. Isn't that Allura's line of work though?"

"She asked for my input. Now, let me focus on inputting."

Keith's lips quirked in a smile before fading quickly, another long silence followed and Keith expected it to drag on for a while.

"How's it going with you?" Shiro asked suddenly.

"Aren't you busy inputting?"

"Distract me for a bit before my eyes cross."

Keith pressed his weight on his palms and the metal table behind him. "I checked in with Kolivan and the other Blades. They're taking on a few missions near the edges where we've gotten more word on Zarkon's old alliances have gotten ahold of more concentrated quintessence. This whole situation just keeps popping up like a persistent weed."

Shiro's lips pressed into a line and he straightened up and away from the Holograph table. "How's Pidge doing with the data?"

"She complained that it's not as excited as she'd hoped," Keith said and he stood back up. "Her and Matt are creating a new program to go through the info faster. Hunk's probably going to get in on it too. Kolivan's good with it, and naturally, I kept my suspicions for Lotor out of the deal."

"So," Shiro sighed. "It's a waiting game."

"Yeah," Keith agreed and another silence filled the space. After some time, Shiro turned to face him.

”What’s up?”

”It’s nothing.”

Shiro set the remote down. “Something’s eating at you, I can tell. What is it?”

Keith’s fingers twitched around his arms and he sighed. “Look, not that I'm not happy to be back on the team and all but it's not like I'm really needed here. Besides my recon and our conversations... it just seems like I’m just sitting around. Meanwhile, the Blades are stretched thin enough as they are."

Shiro's expression became unguarded for a brief moment. "Keith... if you want to go, you can. No one is holding you back here."

"I know," Keith said and he let his eyes flicker to the ground for an instant before looking back into Shiro's gaze. "But, it wouldn't feel right to leave right away either."

There's a moment where neither of them had to say anything to understand each other. It didn't need saying.

"Whatever you decide to do," Shiro said at last. "Just know that we'll support you through it."

"Thanks," Keith said and they left it at that.

* * *

 “So what’d you find?”

Pidge rubbed at the back of her neck for a moment before sighing, “Okay, this is going to sound weird but... I honestly don’t know what we found.”

Keith straightened up in his seat and arched a brow. He looked in the direction of the floating hologram of Matt’s equally pensive expression. They were back in the Castle’s lounge room, sitting back and enjoying a few milkshakes Hunk had made while experimenting with other fruits they’d gotten from a liberated planet.

”Matt?”

”I wish I could give you a better answer but yeah,” Matt replied with a shrug. “We ran the programming multiple times and each time we received slightly different results from the last.”

”But the slight differences from the first to the latest scans vary so largely it’s hard to find a decent medium of information without ending up with conflicting pieces of information,” Pidge added. She tugged her glasses off to rub her shirt on them.

”Meaning...”

Matt let out a sigh, “Meaning your theory either has a lot of weight or no weight at all.”

”Schrödinger’s theory,” Pidge said and the two siblings shared a small chuckle over it.

Keith vaguely remembered who Shrödinger was before he dragged a hand down his face.

”So what you’re basically saying is I either have a lead or a dead end. Great.”

”Well,” Matt began once more, “This isn’t all bad news if you think about it. There is clearly something weird going on here if we’re receiving such wildly inconsistent results. My guess is there are couple possibilities for it: one, the information you nabbed may have gotten corrupted during the upload process. Or two, this information is coded in such a way to prevent hacking unless a master code is implemented.”

Keith brought his fingers together over his knees.

”Can you guys break it?”

”As much as I’d love to spill hours of time into a jigsaw puzzle as big as this one,” Pidge said, tugging her glasses back over her eyes. “It’ll be like searching for a needle in an ocean. There’s just... way too much information...”

Keith let out a small groan.

”Based on what you guys saw, what does some of it show, at least?”

Pidge reached over and grabbed her laptop.

”Here’s a super duper mega rough idea of what we may have,” Pidge said and brought the screen up to Keith’s eyes.

”We were able to extrapolate certain constants in the information,” Matt said as Pidge pointed to where they compiled their work. “Stuff that we already know about the quintessence routes and where they may be located. A lot of this matches the information the Blades have shared with the Coalition’s rebel base. So this is information we already know—“

”—and in good news, can confirm the intel that these hidden quintessence routes is solid,” Pidge added.

”That’s good!” Keith said, perking up.

”The problem is how much of it is solid,” Matt said. “With the inconsistencies, we can’t say that all of it, not enough of it, or more than enough of it is solid. We know something’s happening here but we cannot fathom at what scale for now.”

”Our best bet would be to ask Lotor,” Pidge said. “Since he is the big guy on the throne now, corroborating information with him would benefit this whole thing far better than a skim of ten thousand years worth of data.”

”No,” Keith said. Both Pidge and Matt blinked in surprise before exchanging a glance. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

”You don’t trust him,” Matt said.

”I don’t know if we should trust him,” Keith replied.

Pidge lowered her laptop back on the cushion and crossed her fingers together.

”Look, I’m not against you here,” she said. “I had a big issue trusting him too back when we were getting back our dad. But enough time has passed, Keith... Lotor’s work and alliance to the coalition has made fighting this war an easier thing to do. All the intel we’ve gotten from him has always been direct and to the point. I don’t like it any more than you do, but isn’t it worth something?”

Keith said nothing for a while, staring at the drying foam in their empty milkshake glasses. He stood up and tugged his hood back over his head.

”Keep searching,” he said. “I’ll handle talking to Lotor.”

and with that he walked out of the lounge and left the siblings to glance back at one another worriedly.

* * *

 


End file.
